Manchester United
Pochettino’s United arrival set for midweek after USMNT duty
Pochettino should start at United next week after finishing USMNT duty and before Liverpool.
Mauricio Pochettino is on course to begin work as Manchester United manager on Wednesday, Nov. 18 or Thursday, Nov. 19, a timetable that would allow him to see through his immediate commitments with the USMNT before departing. The arrangement is intended to avoid leaving the U.S. Soccer federation exposed while the transition is completed.
The move is not yet officially done, but BBC Sport says it is “expected to be a formality” as the process moves toward a quick conclusion after first emerging only days ago. Pochettino has also informed U.S. Soccer that he wants to accept the Manchester United opportunity, a significant step toward finalising the switch.
United will need to trigger a break clause in his contract with U.S. Soccer, which was signed as recently as August after the decision to extend beyond the 2026 World Cup. The clause is reportedly worth $10 million (£7 million).
Earlier in the week, it was made clear that United wanted a successor to Carrick in place before the club’s Premier League meeting with Liverpool after the resumption of club soccer. That fixture at Anfield is set for Sunday, Nov. 22, leaving a narrow window for the new manager to settle in.
According to the BBC, Pochettino’s first day in Manchester will fall on the Wednesday or Thursday before that match. That would still give him the chance to oversee the USMNT in the upcoming Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals against Haiti before stepping away.
The second leg takes place in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Nov. 17. From there, he would likely head straight to Manchester after the final whistle, ideally after guiding the USMNT into the semifinals. If he is unable to take a United training session the next day because of the travel and lack of rest involved, he would instead begin on Thursday, Nov. 19.
That would give him three days on the training ground with his new squad. The schedule is tight, but it appears to serve both sides, especially with U.S. Soccer having faced a difficult task over who would handle the Haiti matches had Pochettino been required to leave immediately, particularly with the two contingency options unavailable.
Manchester United
Manchester United sack Carrick after Villa draw deepens crisis
United are 18th after sacking Carrick, with Pochettino linked and safety still in reach.
Manchester United have dismissed Michael Carrick following a damaging 4-4 draw with Aston Villa, a result that left the club 18th in the Premier League and intensified a season already heading in the wrong direction.
Carrick, a former United midfielder, had initially arrived as interim manager in January after the dismissal of Ruben Amorim. At the time, the club sat seventh in the table, and Carrick steadied results with a 12-3-2 run to finish third. That form earned him the permanent role.
This campaign has been a stark contrast. United are the only Premier League side yet to win more than once, with their sole league victory coming against newly promoted Ipswich Town on Aug. 30. Since then, the Red Devils have recorded five draws and three defeats in league play. They are now only one point above last place.
The situation is striking, but with the season just over a quarter complete, there is still time for recovery. What happens next will be watched closely, particularly by followers of the U.S. men’s national team, given the reports linking United with Mauricio Pochettino.
According to multiple reports, United have identified the USMNT coach as their preferred candidate to fill the vacancy. Pochettino recently re-signed to lead the U.S. through the 2030 World Cup, but his contract includes a buyout clause that could allow him to take the United job.
The timing may suit a change. The Premier League is in an international break, and United do not play again until Nov. 22. That would give any new manager time to settle before the club travels to Liverpool in its first game after the restart.
Elsewhere, there is growing confidence that North Carolina State will appoint Philip Rivers as its next football coach. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported that Rivers “has formally accepted” the job, while ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Pete Thamel said the school’s board of trustees will meet on Friday to finalize his contract.
Rivers, 44, was a four-year starter for the Wolfpack before an 18-season NFL career. He returned from a four-year retirement last season to start three games for the Colts after injuries to two Indianapolis quarterbacks. His coaching résumé remains limited, though he is currently head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama, where he has led state semifinal runs in 2024 and ’25.
Manchester United
Carrick’s Exit Exposes United’s Wider Problems
Carrick’s exit leaves United exposed, with injuries, poor planning and uncertain futures.
Manchester United have once again reached a familiar crossroads in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, moving on from a manager who once appeared to be the answer.
No side collected more Premier League points after Carrick took over as interim boss last season, a spell that carried United to third place and persuaded INEOS to hand him the job permanently. There was also an understanding that 2026/27 would be harder, with more matches and greater expectation, but few could have anticipated how badly the campaign would unravel.
Just two and a half months into the season, United’s form has become hard to defend, with relegation talk no longer sounding entirely far-fetched. Supporters have made their view clear: the anger is directed less at Carrick than at the players and those above him.
After the 3-0 loss to Bournemouth last month, the squad walked off to a chorus of boos once Carrick had disappeared down the tunnel. The team assembled by Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox has not delivered, and both men now face the task of choosing the next manager. Mauricio Pochettino looks the likeliest candidate.
Injuries have also played a part, particularly Benjamin Šeško’s early-season problems. He managed only 206 minutes in all competitions before Carrick was dismissed, forcing the manager to improvise with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo in central positions. Joshua Zirkzee, despite Carrick saying in September that he “believes” in him, was largely overlooked.
“I’m telling you, Josh can do some really top things. I’ve seen it myself, and I’m looking forward to him doing that a little bit more,” he said.
Zirkzee has not started a league game this season and has mostly been used in brief appearances, though he did score at Como and helped spark the late comeback against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Marcus Rashford also benefited from Carrick’s arrival. Barcelona declined to keep him permanently, allowing him back into the fold, and he was restored after being frozen out by Amorim. Yet his season has brought no goal contribution, and injury followed after he lost his starting place.
Kobbie Mainoo is another who gained from Carrick’s return. Reintroduced to the side, he earned a new contract in April and a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad. United then tried to prepare for Casemiro’s exit with the arrivals of Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba, but the broader picture still points back to the same issue: the manager has paid the price for failings elsewhere.
Analytics & Stats
Manchester United end Michael Carrick’s brief reign after another turbulent spell
United have sacked Michael Carrick after a brief spell that faded, leaving more chaos than control behind.
Manchester United have dismissed Michael Carrick, ending a stay that never settled into anything resembling control. The club said the decision was taken after concluding that “the club has come to the extremely difficult conclusion that a change is necessary in order to achieve our ambitions.”
Carrick had been handed three more matches in a last attempt to justify the two-year deal awarded in the summer. What followed only reinforced the sense of drift. United lost, won and drew across three wildly different games, each one adding to the disorder around the team rather than easing it.
There was promise before collapse against Chelsea, a recovery from a dreadful first half to beat a Roma side that then went further in the second period, and then 98 chaotic minutes against Aston Villa on Sunday. Across all three, Carrick’s influence appeared minimal. Lisandro Martínez’s head loss, favourable penalty calls and Zion Suzuki’s weaknesses in the air loomed larger than the manager charged with restoring order.
United are now expected to move towards U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino, with formal steps already underway to appoint the Argentine.
Carrick had been brought in to steady the club after Ruben Amorim’s departure in January, much as United once turned to Ole Gunnar Solskjær after José Mourinho. His strongest spell came in the second half of last season, when a return to 4-2-3-1, players in preferred positions and a smaller set of regular starters helped stabilise performances. The calmer tone around him also contrasted sharply with Amorim’s approach. As Carrick said of the word “philosophy”: “I hate that word.”
Yet the effect faded over the summer. Bruno Fernandes summed up the initial idea by saying, “Michael came in with the right ideas of giving the players responsibility, but also some freedom to take the responsibility on the pitch for the decisions that are needed,” but that freedom soon tightened. Fernandes even pushed back against instructions to “half-press” against Como.
By the end, Carrick had become more observer than architect. Even the fans’ support during the slide into the relegation zone hinted at how little he could alter. Starting Diogo Dalot at left back may have been exposed against Aston Villa, but the wider issue remained the same: if the club do not recruit better, no manager can conjure solutions from nowhere. In the end, Carrick paid for the moment when his magic ran out.
